Meter-Scale Thin-Walled Structure with Lattice Infill for Fuel Tank Supporting Component of Satellite:Multiscale Design and Experimental Verification

Lightweight thin-walled structures with lattice infill are widely desired in satellite for their high stiffness-to-weight ratio and superior buckling strength resulting fromthe sandwich effect.Such structures can be fabricated bymetallic additive manufacturing technique,such as selective laser melting(SLM).However,the maximum dimensions of actual structures are usually in a sub-meter scale,which results in restrictions on their appliance in aerospace and other fields.In this work,a meter-scale thin-walled structure with lattice infill is designed for the fuel tank supporting component of the satellite by integrating a self-supporting lattice into the thickness optimization of the thin-wall.The designed structure is fabricated by SLM of AlSi10Mg and cold metal transfer welding technique.Quasi-static mechanical tests and vibration tests are both conducted to verify the mechanical strength of the designed large-scale lattice thin-walled structure.The experimental results indicate that themeter-scale thin-walled structure with lattice infill could meet the dimension and lightweight requirements of most spacecrafts.

Boundary Element Analysis forModeⅢCrack Problems of Thin-Walled Structures from Micro-to Nano-Scales

This paper develops a new numerical framework for modeⅢcrack problems of thin-walled structures by integrating multiple advanced techniques in the boundary element literature.The details of special crack-tip elements for displacement and stress are derived.An exponential transformation technique is introduced to accurately calculate the nearly singular integral,which is the key task of the boundary element simulation of thin-walled structures.Three numerical experiments with different types of cracks are provided to verify the performance of the present numerical framework.Numerical results demonstrate that the present scheme is valid for modeⅢcrack problems of thin-walled structures with the thickness-to-length ratio in the microscale,even nanoscale,regime.

Geometric Accuracy and Energy Absorption Characteristics of 3D Printed Continuous Ramie Fiber Reinforced Thin-Walled Composite Structures

The application of continuous natural fibers as reinforcement in composite thin-walled structures offers a feasible approach to achieve light weight and high strength while remaining environmentally friendly.In addition,additive manufacturing technology provides a favorable process foundation for its realization.In this study,the printability and energy absorption properties of 3D printed continuous fiber reinforced thin-walled structures with different configurations were investigated.The results suggested that a low printing speed and a proper layer thickness would mitigate the printing defects within the structures.The printing geometry accuracy of the structures could be further improved by rounding the sharp corners with appropriate radii.This study successfully fabricated structures with vari-ous configurations characterized by high geometric accuracy through printing parameters optimization and path smoothing.Moreover,the compressive property and energy absorption characteristics of the structures under quasi-static axial compression were evaluated and compared.It was found that all studied thin-walled structures exhibited progressive folding deformation patterns during compression.In particular,energy absorption process was achieved through the combined damage modes of plastic deformation,fiber pullout and delamination.Furthermore,the com-parison results showed that the hexagonal structure exhibited the best energy absorption performance.The study revealed the structure-mechanical property relationship of 3D printed continuous fiber reinforced composite thin-walled structures through the analysis of multiscale failure characteristics and load response,which is valuable for broadening their applications.

Elastoplastic analysis of thin-walled structures in reservoir area

In the structural design of the high pier,in order to analyze the strength and structure stability,the pier was often considered a thin-walled structure.Elastoplastic incremental theory was used to establish the model of elastoplastic stability of high pier.By considering the combined action of pile,soil and pier together,the destabilization bearing capacity was calculated by using 3-D finite element method(3-D FEM) for piers with different pile and section height.Meanwhile,the equivalent stress in different sections of pier was computed and the processor of destabilization was discussed.When the pier is lower,the bearing capacity under mutual effect of pile,soil and pier is less than the situation when mutual effect is not considered;when the pier is higher,their differences are not conspicuous.Along with the increase of the cross-sectional height,the direction of destabilization bearing capacity is varied and the ultimate capacity is buildup.The results of a stability analysis example are almost identical with the practice.

LOCALIZED ANALYSIS OF THIN-WALLED STRUCTURE’S BUCKLING/INITIAL POST-BUCKLING AND ITS ACCURACY

A method of localization is proposed to lower the high order of equations in FEM calcula- tion for the stability of a complex thin-walled structure.The localized analysis enables us to obtain both the upper and lower limits for the bifurcating point in a whole linear elastic structural system,as well as an ap- proximate solution to asymptotic post-buckling problem.Some numerical examples are included.

Optimization Design of an Embedded Multi-Cell Thin-Walled Energy Absorption Structures with Local Surface Nanocrystallization

Bymeans of the local surface nanocrystallization that enables to change the material on local positions,an innovative embedded multi-cell(EMC)thin-walled energy absorption structures with local surface nanocrystallization is proposed in this paper.The local surface nanacrystallization stripes are regarded as the moving morphable components in the domain for optimal design.Results reveal that after optimizing the local surface nanocrystallization layout,the specific energy absorption(SEA)is increased by 50.78%compared with the untreated counterpart.Besides,in contrast with the optimized 4-cell structure,the SEA of the nanocrystallized embedded 9-cell structure is further enhanced by 27.68%,in contrast with the 9-cell structure,the SEA of the nanocrystallized embedded clapboard type 9-cell structure is enhanced by 3.61%.Thismethod provides a guidance for the design of newenergy absorption devices.

Effect of Molecular Weight and Molecular Distribution on Skin Structure and Shear Strength Distribution near the Surface of Thin-Wall Injection Molded Polypropylene

In this study, the relationship between skin structure and shear strength distribution of thin-wall injection molded polypropylene (PP) molded at different molecular weight and molecular distribution was investigated. Skin-core structure, cross-sectional morphology, crystallinity, crystal orientation, crystal morphology and molecular orientation were evaluated by using polarized optical microscope, differential scanning calorimeter, X-ray spectroscopic analyzer and laser Raman spectroscopy, respectively, while the shear strength distribution was investigated using a micro cutting method called SAICAS (Surface And Interfacial Cutting Analysis System). The results indicated that the difference of molecular weight and molecular weight distribution showed own skin layer thickness. Especially, high molecular weight sample showed thicker layer of the lamellar orientation and molecular orientation than low molecular weight sample. In addition, wide molecular distribution sample showed large crystal orientation layer.

Transformation Matrix for Combined Loads Applied to Thin-Walled Structures

This paper transforms combined loads, applied at an arbitrary point of a thin-walled open section beam, to the shear centre of the cross-section of the beam. Therein, a generalized transformation matrix for loads with respect to the shear centre is derived, this accounting for the bimoments that develop due to the way the combined loads are applied. This and the authors’ earlier paper (World Journal of Mechanics 2021, 11, 205-236) provide a full solution to the theory of thin-walled, open-section structures bearing combined loading. The earlier work identified arbitrary loading with the section’s area properties that are necessary to axial and shear stress calculations within the structure’s thin walls. In the previous paper attention is paid to the relevant axes of loading and to the transformations of loading required between axes for stress calculations arising from tension/compression, bending, torsion and shear. The derivation of the general transformation matrix applies to all types of loadings including, axial tensile and compression forces, transverse shear, longitudinal bending. One application, representing all these load cases, is given of a simple channel cantilever with an eccentrically located end load.

GEOMETRICALLY NONLINEAR FINITE ELEMENT MODEL OF SPATIAL THIN-WALLED BEAMS WITH GENERAL OPEN CROSS SECTION

Based on the theory of Timoshenko and thin-walled beams, a new finite element model of spatial thin-walled beams with general open cross sections is presented in the paper, in which several factors are included such as lateral shear deformation, warp generated by nonuni- form torsion and second-order shear stress, coupling of flexure and torsion, and large displacement with small strain. With an additional internal node in the element, the element stiffness matrix is deduced by incremental virtual work in updated Lagrangian （UL） formulation. Numerical examples demonstrate that the presented model well describes the geometrically nonlinear property of spatial thin-walled beams.

Study of Impact Resistance Based on Porcupine Quills Bionic Thin-walled Structure

Using an electron microscope to observe the microstructure of a porcupine quills cross-section and a bionic method,a new bionic structure was proposed.The performance of the structure in terms of energy absorption,maximum impact force withstood,and impact force efficiency was evaluated using Ansys finite element simulation software to simulate the structure's impact.To examine the impact of ribs on the structural performance of the bionic porcupine quills,a control structure was developed.According to the results of the finite element simulation,the presence of ribs in the Bionic porcupine quills structure can transfer stress uniformly to the overall structure and share stress for some of the rupture-prone regions.Ribs reduce stress concentration in specific areas and increase the impact force efficiency of the structure.The SEA and IFE values of bionic porcupine quills were 30.01 kJ/kg and 84.22%,respectively.The structure is then optimized for parameter design in order to find the optimal structure by response surface in order to improve the structure's SEA and decrease its MIF.In order to evaluate the precision of the response surface,the optimal structure predicted is validated using finite element simulation.

Static behavior of semi-rigid thin-walled steel-concrete composite beam-to-column joints with bolted partial-depth flush end plate:experimental study

A new type of semi-rigid thin-walled steel-concrete composite beam-to-column joint has been proposed in this paper.Five semi-rigid composite beam-to-column joint specimens subjected to hogging moments under monotonic loading were tested to study the static behavior of this new type of joint.The main variable parameters for the five joint specimens were the longitudinal reinforcement ratio and the joint type.The experimental results designated that the magnitude of extension of the longitudinal reinforcement is the most important factor that influenced the moment-rotation characteristic of the new type of joint.The concrete slabs could resist 3.8%-19.1% of the total shear load applied to the cross-sections near the beam-to-column connection.The edge stiffened elements,such as the flange of the lipped I-section thin-walled steel beam,were capable of having considerable inelastic deformation capacity although they had comparatively large width-to-thickness ratios.The shear failure of the concrete cantilever edge strip must be taken into account in practical design because it has significant influence on the anchorage of the longitudinal reinforcement in the new type of external joints.

Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis of Thin-Walled Beam on Pre- and Post-Buckling Stiffness and Gauge Sensitivity Index

Lightweight design has a significant impact on reducing fuel consumption and harmful emission of conventional vehicles and improving driving range of electric vehicles. Reducing the thickness of components in vehicle bodies and closures is an efficient approach for weight reduction. Thickness reduction, however, will reduce structural stiffness, especially in the presence of lateral displacements of buckling when critical stress is reached. In this paper, nonlinear FEA models of a thin-walled beam with variable thickness are developed for calculating the changes of beam stiffness as to thickness reduction in the pre- and post-buckling stages. Next, these stiffness values are used to calculate gauge sensitivity of the beam, which changes with respect to beam thickness changes. It is concluded that the presence of buckling will reduce the beam stiffness, worsen the stress uniformity, and increase the gauge sensitivity value of the beam.

Elastic buckling analysis and optimization of thin-walled bamboo-like pipe beam subjected to pure bending

In this paper,a stiffening design imitating the bamboo node is proposed for weight reduction of the long composite pipe beam subjected to bending load.The distribution of bamboo nodes can efficiently suppress the ovalization of the section,thus significantly improving the bending resistance of the bamboo.Based on this principle,ring stiffeners are proposed to be fixed to the pipe beam,making the long beam equivalent to the combination of a series of short pipes that suffered less section ovalization.A database of the optimal laminate orientations for different normalized lengths is obtained through optimizations,where the discreteness of the ply count is considered.Based on this database,weight optimizations are conducted,and the optimal designs of beams with and without stiffeners are obtained and compared.The comparison results show that the proposed bamboo-like stiffened beam not only regains a near-linear load–displacement relationship,but also reduces the weight by up to 16%under the same buckling load.In addition,it is found that for the pipe beams with radius-to-thickness ratios of more than 18,increasing the radius leads to a decrease in elastic buckling resistance when the weight remains a constant,which is opposite to the design for strength and stiffness.The model and database developed in this paper can provide a reference for weight reduction design and weight estimation for composite pipe beams.

Deployment analysis of composite thin-walled lenticular tubes with effect of storage time and temperature

Composite Thin-walled Lenticular Tube(CTLT)is increasingly utilized in small satellites missions as a lightweight,foldable,and rollable structural material that facilitates the construction of large deployable systems.The CTLT is initially flattened and coiled around a central hub for storage before launch,during which elastic energy is stored as deformation energy,allowing it to be self-deployed on demand for use in orbit.This work presents a comprehensive investigation into the coiling,storage and deployment behaviors of CTLT that wraps around a central hub.A nonlinear explicit dynamic finite element model was developed with both deformable CTLT and rigidbodies mechanisms including the central hub and guide rollers,as well as the complex interactions among them.The coiling mechanics characteristics such as stored strain energy and rotational moment were presented and validated against experimental data in the literature.Then,the dynamic deployment behaviors were analyzed in terms of two different deployment methods,namely,controlled deployment and free deployment.The effect of material property change during storage was also discussed through numerical experiments.

Vibration signal-based chatter identification for milling of thin-walled structure

In high speed milling aeronautical part,tool condition monitoring(TCM)is very important,because it is prone to get a chatter owing to the low stiffness of thin-walled structures.And the TCM is key technology for automated machining.In this paper,aiming to chatter monitoring in thin-walled structure milling,a variational mode decomposition–energy distribution(VMD-ED)method is proposed to improve the identification accuracy.And a moving average root mean square–mean value(MARMS-MV)identification method and a variational mode decomposition–energy entropy(VMD-EE)identification method are also tested.Identification accuracy and computing time of the three methods are compared.The vibration signals collected from the spindle and worktable are also contrasted.The conducted experimental study shows that,the proposed VMD-ED method offers an identification method for chatter monitoring with greater sensitivity,better stability and less computing time,and mounting the vibration sensor on worktable is better than spindle for a chatter monitoring system.

Stiffeners layout design of thin-walled structures with constraints on multi-fastener joint loads

The purpose of this paper is to present an extended topology optimization method for the stiffeners layout design of aircraft assembled structures. Multi-fastener joint loads and manufacturing constraints are considered simultaneously. On one hand, the joint loads are calculated and constrained within a limited value to avoid the failure of fasteners. On the other hand, the manufacturing constraints of the material distribution in the machining directions of stiffeners are implemented by an improved piecewise interpolation based on a beveled cut-surface. It is proven that the objective function is strictly continuous and differentiable with respect to the piecewise interpolation. The effects of the extended method with two different constraints are highlighted by typical numerical examples. Compared with the standard topology optimization, the final designs have clearly shown the layout of stiffeners and the joint loads have been perfectly constrained to a satisfying level.

Fatigue life research and experimental verification of superalloy thin-walled structures subjected to thermal-acoustic loads

Rapid alternating stress is formed in structure subjected to harsh thermal-acoustic loads,which will affect fatigue performance and reduce fatigue life seriously.First,fatigue experiment of superalloy thin-walled structure was carried out to obtain fatigue damage location and failure time of the experiment specimen,and S-iN curves of superalloy thin-walled structure at 723 K were fitted.Then,dynamic response simulation of superalloy thin-walled structure under the same load as experiment was implemented,and fatigue life was estimated based on the fatigue life prediction model which mainly included:improved rain-flow counting method,Morrow average stress model and Miner linear cumulative damage theory.Further,comparisons between simulation solutions and experimental results achieved a consistency,which verified the validity of the Fatigue Life Prediction Model(FLPM).Moreover,taking a rectangle plate as the analysis object,the distributions of Fain-low circulation blocks and damage levels of the structure were discussed respectively.Finally,current research indicates that in pre-buckling the structure is in softened area and fatigue life decreases with the increase of temperature;in post-buckling the structure is in hardened area and fatigue life increases with the increase of temperature within a certain range.

Estimation method for random sonic fatigue life of thin-walled structure of a combustor liner based on stress probability distribution

As to the sonic fatigue problem of an aero-engine combustor liner structure under the random acoustic loadings,an effective method for predicting the fatigue life of a structure under random loadings was studied.Firstly,the probability distribution of Von Mises stress of thin-walled structure under random loadings was studied,analysis suggested that probability density function of Von Mises stress process accord approximately with two-parameter Weibull distribution.The formula for calculating Weibull parameters were given.Based on the Miner linear theory,the method for predicting the random sonic fatigue life based on the stress probability density was developed,and the model for fatigue life prediction was constructed.As an example,an aero-engine combustor liner structure was considered.The power spectrum density(PSD) of the vibrational stress response was calculated by using the coupled FEM/BEM(finite element method/boundary element method) model,the fatigue life was estimated by using the constructed model.And considering the influence of the wide frequency band,the calculated results were modified.Comparetive analysis shows that the estimated results of sonic fatigue of the combustor liner structure by using Weibull distribution of Von Mises stress are more conservative than using Dirlik distribution to some extend.The results show that the methods presented in this paper are practical for the random fatigue life analysis of the aeronautical thin-walled structures.

Riveting Process Modeling and Simulating for Deformation Analysis of Aircraft＇s Thin-walled Sheet-metal Parts

The riveting joint is one of the important joint methods to permanently fasten two thin-walled sheet-metal parts. It is most ba- sic to efficiently analyze and estimate the deformation of the riveting joint for the performance, fatigue durability and damage of the riveting structure in the aircraft. This paper researches the riveting process mathematics modeling and simulating to more accurately analyze deformation of thin-walled sheet-metal parts. First, the mathematics and mechanics models for the elastic deformation, plastic deformation and springback of the rivet are built by mechanics theory. Second, on the basis of ABAQUS system, a finite element system, an instance made up of the rivet and two thin-walled sheet-metal parts of aluminum alloy is used to analyze and simulate the stress and deformation. What＇s more, a comparison is made between the results obtained by the mathematics and mechanics models and those by finite element method （FEM）. The models are proved true by the calculating and simulation results of the instance.

Elastic Buckling of Bionic Cylindrical Shells Based on Bamboo

High load-bearing efficiency is one of the advantages of biological structures after the evolution of billions of years. Biomimicking from nature may offer the potential for lightweight design. In the viewpoint ofrnechanics properties, the culm of bamboo comprises of two types of cells and the number of the vascular bundles takes a gradient of distribution. A three-point bending test was carried out to measure the elastic modulus. Results show that the elastic modulus of bamboo decreases gradually from the periphery towards the centre. Based on the structural characteristics of bamboo, a bionic cylindrical structure was designed to mimic the gradient distribution of vascular bundles and parenchyma cells. The buckling resistance of the bionic structure was compared with that of a traditional shell of equal mass under axial pressure by finite element simulations. Results show that the load-bearing capacity of bionic shell is increased by 124.8%. The buckling mode of bionic structure is global buckling while that of the conventional shell is local buckling.